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Purple-Houze Café

A follow-up food review invitation from Purple-Houze Café is published here.

Update: This business has ceased its operations.

The iconic purple building at Lorong Selamat has changed hands several times: De Title Dinning Cabin, Osthee Hot & Spicy, All Night Cafe. The premise is currently called Purple-Houze Café, a fitting name undoubtedly.

This building was not painted purple on purpose. As a heritage building, the city ordinance does not allow the color to be changed indiscriminately. This works to an advantage because the purple facade serves as a unique landmark on Lorong Selamat.

Purple-Houze is open from 11:00am till the wee hours of 3:00am. Set lunch is available from open till 2:30pm, followed by tea break promotion (20% discount on side orders and desserts) until 5:30pm.

As the business is only one-week old, much of the restaurant (especially the interior) is still in an unprepared state. I believe the proprietor wants a more purplish theme in the dining section as well, but this has yet to be realized.

For my dinner, I ordered the Purple-Houze Special Cheezy (RM9.90). This dish is essentially a cheese omelette with a couple of sausages. A slice of tomato, cucumber and mint leaf serve as garnish.

My original impression of cheese omelette is a layer of fried egg with a cheesy interior. Instead, the omelette merely envelopes a rectangular slice of solid cheddar cheese. The cheese is not molten in any way, therefore does not have the cheesy, sticky sensation often associated to pizza toppings. Since eggs become done quickly, it is impractical to allow the cheese to melt in the process. Instead, I suggest using pre-heated cheese or cheese cream instead as the omelette filling.

The eggs are quite plain and lack any flavor whatsoever. An easy fix is to use chopped onions and pepper to spice it up. Mushrooms and bell peppers also help. For the price tag, I think these are viable options.

The sausages are quite normal; not really bad, but not special either. Since the dish is supposed to be "cheesy", I was hoping that the sausages have cheese fillings too, but they do not.

I ordered a Lemon Cheese Mille Crepe (RM9.90), one of the two types of mille crêpe available today. Although the cake is wrapped on the sides, the top layer has dried up and became hard. In order not to ruin the overall texture, I removed the first layer before consuming the mille crêpe.

Mille crêpe is best enjoyed when cold. The layers are reasonably soft and creamy. Taste is quite pleasant and not overwhelmed by the cheese cream. The portion is slightly small compared to those that I had recently. According to the proprietor, the mille crêpe is sourced from a bakery in Johor. I wonder why it isn't easier to purchase locally in Penang?

I had a glass of Mint Mocha Iced Coffee (RM8.90) as my beverage of choice. The drink is served in a tall glass with a fancy stir stick, most likely for novelty rather than practical reasons. The mocha has a flavorful chocolatey taste, but the caffeine level leaves some room to be desired. A stronger espresso shot is preferable.

The friendly proprietor was present during my visit, and she took the initiative to seek feedback after the meal. According to her, the restaurant is still not fully operational as she is trying to hit the ground running (haphazardly) before Chinese New Year. Future plans involve a proper makeover of the dining area (presumably purplish decorations) and a game room upstairs.

For years, I used to come here as a kid visiting my grandparents at 99 Lorong Selamat during 80's. That purple was not purple then. It was white. Don't know why council would approve that purple colour. So not original.